CarMax Who has bought there

[Hardy]

We bought our last car at Carmax (about 1 1/2 years ago I think) and it was a great experience....we had it transferred for free from another location, there were no silly games like with a regular dealership....I loved just knowing the price and being done with it. They gave a fair price for the car we were getting rid of, and it mostly was smooth except they had a hard time finishing out the financing we had (went through BoA and they couldn't get some approval or something...seems more like BoAs fault anyway) but eventually that was straightened out.

The only issue was our car had a potentially dangerous recall on it (could possibly stall at slow speeds with no warning and this locks the steering) and they did not fix this issue before selling it or even tell us there was a recall, so it is good that we figured that out on our own....although we did not specifically ask if there was a recall for the vehicle...I still think they should have disclosed that.

On another good note, my parents just sold their mini cooper s convertible to Carmax for around 40% more than the mini dealer was offering (did not buy anything), it was a great price, and I think they had the ability to offer more because they can ship a convertible to somewhere where it would sell well in January.

All that said, we will definitely have Carmax in the running when we purchase our next vehicle, and I would still recommend it to anyone.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

It depends on where you are. I looked there a few years ago & for 2k less than what thay wanted for a 2 year old used car I bought the exact same model brand new.

 

[Disney845]

Count us in on the praise for Carmax. SO swears by them. He has bought 3 cars from them (including his and my current cars) and has gotten both his mother and a brother to buy a car from them in the past. Closest Carmax location to us is about 2hrs but we love the idea we can look online and they will ship, so really almost any car can be at our disposal.

Our most recent experience at Carmax, we had such a nice sales rep. He even sent us a Christmas card the first year after buying the car (we bought in July) and remembered that I said I was looking for a particular model (rare at the time), and he said he was still keeping his eye out for me to let me know if any came to them for resale.

 

[Fire14]

I have 2 Carmax locations in my general area and fell in love with car at one location but wanted to look around more and ended up going to other location which is closer to my house, but still loved my first impression of other car at other location best so had them transfer it for me. I did get extended warrenty and have used it few times to point is paid for self. I would buy from them again in heart beat.

 

[ChattaDIS]

Wow, Thanks for the Feedback. Looks like my decision is pretty much made. I have rarely seen this type of positive feedback. Thanks Fellow Disers. Makes me look forward to finding my next car.

 

[MissAndrea]

We bought our last car there and also had a great experience. My favorite part about using them is being able to go online and search for exactly what you want, then you can have the car shipped to you. When you go to a car lot, you are limited to what's on the lot...with Carmax, it's whatever is on their lots nationwide! Love it!

 

[SalandJeff]

When we were looking for my dh's truck we did go there, but they didn't have what we wanted. Two things I did not like....we did see a truck at another of their locations on their computer, but there was a substantial fee for them to bring it to our local Carmax. Also, we were not allowed to go on the lot. All the cars are in a fenced area and you have to look on their computer and then tell the sales people which ones you want to see, they go get it and bring it out.

It sounds like this may not be the case at all their locations, and it sounds like there are a lot of happy buyers here!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

We bought my Volvo SUV there and we got a steal on it. I'm sure that it was a fluke as V8's were not in demand at the time 2 years ago when gas prices were very high. Our experience was outstanding, but then again the deal was pretty rare I think...just a confluence of factors made the car very inexpensive at that point in time.

 

[Jenn4615]

Our Carmax locations in MD also sell New Cars... we have bought two new toyotas from them... No problems... no hastles... same car... paid less money than the regular dealers wanted for both!

 

[kmacht]

I guess I will post a dissenting opinion just to give you some perspective. We just bought a car this week from a local dealer. We tried looking at carmax and the same car with the same miles (2010 HHR) was $2500 more than we paid for at the local dealer even after taxes, and registration were added in. The appeal with car max is that they have alot of newer cars on the lot with a fixed sticker price on each one. You can go there and not worry about having to haggle over price. The thing is that alot of dealerships will work the same way, they just don't advertise it. Almost every dealership has a website with the asking price of their cars listed now. Figure out the cost of sales tax and registration and walk into the dealership offering their full website price, tax, and registration, and I guaranteed you will walk out with that new car. No different than carmax. I do think carmax has their place though. They have alot of newer cars there for you to look at and try out. You can go there and pretty much figure out exactly what you want. I just caution you to do some research before just blindly buying from them. Do a search on cars.com or autotrader.com for your local area for that same car and see what the asking prices are. I can almost gurantee the local dealers will have it for the same or most likely less. Both places add tax and registration on to the vehicle when you buy it so the dealership advertised price is a pretty good comparison to the carmax no haggle price.

As far as standing behind the cars they sell, carmax is good at that and most larger dealerships are as well. I would stay away from the private used car lots that don't also sell new cars though. They tend to buy the stuff from auction that the local dealers don't want. Sometimes they can be a good deal but you have to be alot more carefull when buying from them.

Keith

 

[angwill]

We bought two cars from them one old and one new. Both were very good experiences. When I bought my Toyota new from them I researched dozens of dealers and nobody could match their no haggle price. I have also sold 2 cars to them. They only sell the higher quality used vehicles and auction off anything that is not quality.

 

[kermit116]

We bought a car there and had a great experience. The salesperson was attentive but not pushy, and the whole process was really simple. We were looking for a very specific model of car with a specific set of options. The Carmax we went to had one that met our needs, and there was another model at a dealership in another state that we were also interested in. They got the other car to the Carmax location near us so we were able to save time and look at both cars side-by-side. The whole process only took a few hours, and we drove off with our new (used) vehicle. I'd highly recommend. I also used to work with a guy who had worked at car dealerships for many years. He said that if you are trying to sell your car back to a dealership, that Carmax will generally give you the most money of any dealership. I haven't tried to sell/trade in a car to Carmax, but based on our buying experience I would go back to them again.

 

[mrodgers]

Just looked at the Carmax website. OUCH! The prices are unbelievable! Unbelievably high that is.

I looked up my VW Jetta. Going price is about $6000. Carmax listed 1 for the year 2003, $12,599!

I was looking at Mazda3. When I was looking, a 2006 model was going for about $8-9000. Carmax I see them at $13-14000!

My 2006 Mazda Tribute is worth about $7000 right now. Not on Carmax, it is about $14k!

 

[Skatermom23]

I found their prices to be quite high. The sales staff was nice though and not pushy at all. We did have to "register" our license number in their computer in order to test drive a car. I think it was so that they had an excuse to get our address. Personally, I wouldn't buy from them because I like to haggle over price!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Just looked at the Carmax website. OUCH! The prices are unbelievable! Unbelievably high that is.

I looked up my VW Jetta. Going price is about $6000. Carmax listed 1 for the year 2003, $12,599!

I was looking at Mazda3. When I was looking, a 2006 model was going for about $8-9000. Carmax I see them at $13-14000!

My 2006 Mazda Tribute is worth about $7000 right now. Not on Carmax, it is about $14k!

Used cars are selling at a premium this year. I don't know where you are getting your figures, but Carmax probably has more realistic prices:

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/201...-prices-are-expected-to-remain-high-for-years

That said, we've bought two cars at Carmax with no problems. I would definitely buy a car from them again.

 

[3lilpiggies]

While I have not purchased a vehicle from Carmax- my sister has. She did not have a good experience at all. The car she purchased was recalled for oil sludge. She didnt know about the recall until 1year after she purchased the car. She even took the car back to Carmax several times saying the oil light kept coming on. They just kept changing the oil and failed to mention anything that may be a problem. In the end, they did not want to fix the vehicle for the problem. The recall happened before she bought the vehicle. They failed to mention anything about the recall. I would just be careful buying a used car. You never know where it came from or how it was taken care of before you got it.

 

[Floridagal23]

I sold my car to carmax and had an absolutely delightful experience.

 

[Swimalie]

Just looked at the Carmax website. OUCH! The prices are unbelievable! Unbelievably high that is.

I looked up my VW Jetta. Going price is about $6000. Carmax listed 1 for the year 2003, $12,599!

I was looking at Mazda3. When I was looking, a 2006 model was going for about $8-9000. Carmax I see them at $13-14000!

My 2006 Mazda Tribute is worth about $7000 right now. Not on Carmax, it is about $14k!

I agree. We went to CarMax when we were getting ready to sell our 2000 Honda CR-V (130,000 miles on it). They offered us only $3500. They had ones on their site, same model and similar mileage, selling for $10k or more. That's a huge difference in what they pay and what they sell for. We ended up selling it privately for $5000 which was right at Kelley Blue Book value. What they were charging was way too much. I will never buy from them as a result.

 

[WeLuvDiznee]

We bought my DH's car from there. Our service dealer was very helpful & didn't push cars on us.